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The group briefly replaced Gumi’s website with a ransom demand and distributed roughly $40 worth of in-game currency to Final Fantasy Brave Exivus players.

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

September 22, 2017

2 Min Read

Final Fantasy Brave Exivus developer Gumi has reclaimed its website from a band of hackers that gained access to the site and seemingly a smattering of Gumi’s other files this past Thursday.

According to a record of the events collected by one NeoGAF user, a hacker under the moniker ‘HaxAC’ replaced the developer’s website with a taunting image and ransom demand yesterday afternoon. 

The hacker in question claimed that it had access to more than just the website, threatening to release source code for a number of Gumi’s games if the developer did not send between 75-300 bitcoin (roughly $266k-$1.1 million) within the timeframe specified. 

“Your security is a joke. Fortunately, we will not be touching any of your files," read Gumi's hijacked website Thursday afternoon. "But it would be quite unfortunate if the source codes of your (9?) games were to say, LEAK. Well, you know what, we don’t actually feel like leaking anything today. But, we do feel greedy.”

The intruder than reportedly distributed roughly $40 worth of in-game currency to players before the game itself went down for ‘emergency maintenance' shortly after. The developer has since reclaimed its web pages and released a statement via Facebook to say the game would remain offline as it ensured “the integrity of the game system including all game data and players’ personal information”

“We have determined upon investigation that this disruption was caused by someone who gained unauthorized access into our system for the FFBE game, and made a threat to our hosting company,” reads the post. We are currently conducting maintenance to ensure the integrity of the game system including all game data and players’ personal information.”

“We would like to assure all players that this matter is of utmost importance to us. We sincerely ask that you bear with us in the meantime while our teams are hard at work, trying to resolve this matter, and resume the game services as soon as practicable.”

About the Author(s)

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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